Paxlovid, Pfizer’s antiviral medication to treat the coronavirus disease, is displayed on this picture taken on Oct. 7, 2022.
Wolfgang Rattay | Reuters
Pfizer will price a five-day course of its Covid antiviral drug Paxlovid at $1,390 when the corporate starts to transition it to the industrial market later this 12 months.
An organization spokesperson on Wednesday confirmed the worth, which was first reported by The Wall Street Journal. That list price, which is before rebates and other discounts to insurers and pharmacy profit managers, is greater than double the $529 the federal government paid for Paxlovid.
The federal government has purchased and distributed Paxlovid to the general public without cost since December 2021, when the FDA first authorized the treatment. But starting in 2024, Pfizer will sell Paxlovid on to health insurers, which comes as demand for Covid vaccines and coverings slumps nationwide.
Doctors, health experts and patient advocates have raised concerns that a better price will curb access to the life-saving treatment, which has been shown to cut back the danger of severe disease and death from Covid amongst vulnerable patients, equivalent to those with diabetes, heart conditions or a weakened immune system.Â
But medical insurance plans will likely pay much lower than the nearly $1,400 list price for Paxlovid, meaning patients will probably have small or no out-of-pocket costs. Pfizer also noted that it’s working with payers to lower copays for patients.
Pfizer plans to subsidize copays of people who find themselves commercially insured at the least through 2028.
“As all the time, Pfizer’s goal is to make sure broad and equitable access to our medicines. We’re working diligently with payers to realize one of the best possible formulary placement for PAXLOVID, leading to low OOP costs for patients,” a spokesperson for the corporate said in a press release to CNBC.
On Friday, the corporate also said it expects revenue from Paxlovid to are available $7 billion lower than previously anticipated, partly as a result of the return of doses labeled for emergency use by the federal government.
Overall, Pfizer now expects 2023 sales of $58 billion to $61 billion, down from its previous guidance of $67 billion to $70 billion. Pfizer said it cut its revenue outlook “solely as a result of its Covid products.”
— CNBC’s Angelica Peebles contributed to this report.
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